A crucial component of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) is the sensitizer. The latter cap...

A crucial component of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) is the sensitizer. The latter captures photons which are converted to electric current in the cell. A typical dye is cis-[Ru(L)2(NCS—N2] where L is the bpy derivative shown below:

What conformational change does the bpy ligand undergo when it binds to Ru2+ ? (b) An ideal dye should absorb light over the whole visible range, and the extinction coefficient should be high over the whole absorption range. Explain why this is. (c) The electronic transition associated with the absorption of cis- [Ru(L)2(NCS-/V)2] in the visible region involves an electron in the metal t2s level and a low-lying 7r MO. What is the origin of the acceptor orbital, and what is the general name for this type of transition? Relate the type of transition to the redox properties of ruthenium(IJ)

N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw (1997) Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford - A very good account including historical, technological and structural aspects; the metals in each triad are treated together.

J. McCleverty (1999) Chemistry of the First-row Transition Metals, Oxford University Press, Oxford - An introductory text dealing with the metals Ti to Cu.

S. Riedel and M. Kaupp (2009) Coord. Chem. Rev vol. 253, p. 606 - ‘The highest oxidation states of the transition metal elements’.

J. Silver (ed.) (1993) Chemistry of Iron, Blackie, London - a series of articles covering different facets of the chemistry of iron.

A.F. Wells (1984) Structural Inorganic Chemistry, 5th edn Clarendon Press, Oxford - An excellent source for detailed structural infoimation of, in particular, binary compounds